The Great Slate Debate - Part 1 - Damn You, Technology

I've had my Motorola Xoom now for about 6 months and while I've loved most of my experiences with it to date, there are a few questions that I'm still somewhat confused about. This will be the first of a three part series that looks at some of the hardware and software included in not only my Xoom but other tablets out there and more tablets to come. This first entry will take a look at some of the external features of many popular tablets.

First up on my hardware questions is about the cameras. For one, why does my tablet have to have a rear camera? Are there really people out there recording videos or taking pictures with their tablets? I've taken a few pictures and videos with my Xoom, but it was an incredibly awkward process. It feels like I've pulled my steering wheel out of my car, strapped a camera to it and walked around snapping images. It just doesn't feel right, and that's probably my biggest gripe.

Now don't get me wrong, the cameras on the back of the popular slates aren't awful. The Xoom features a 5MP rear camera while the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has an 8 MP camera and both take really nice pictures (as long as you don't have to zoom in). The iPad 2 has an awful rear facing camera that I think comes in around 1MP (I can't find hard numbers in a basic Google search.) iSuppli, which tears down new electronics and estimates the actual component cost (BOM), found that both cameras on the Xoom add around $14 to the total build cost. I'd prefer to see the front camera (which typically comes in between 1-3MP) be improved to give a better streaming image for video chats and the rear camera removed completely.

My next question has to do with the speakers found on tablets. Now, speakers are a must have on tablets and you can only get so much out of the size speakers found mashed in those cases, but why are they positioned like they are? Here's a brain teaser for you...if the screen is facing you, shouldn't the sound come out the same side? Well, get that notion out of your head right now, because if you have a Xoom, your speakers are on the back.


Image courtesy new-tabletpc.com

The iPad 2 has one speaker that spits sound out the bottom left edge (looking at the back, Apple logo upright). The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has two speakers on the left and right edge (holding the tablet in landscape). What's odd to me is that with the exception of the Xoom, which has about half the bezel that the other big boys have, these slates have a ton of unused real estate around the edges of the displays. It strikes me as being odd that not one of these big dogs had a sound pipe or holes drilled in the front of the tablet so that the sound is actually directed toward your ears. On a slightly related note, I'm surprised none of the cases have sound deflectors to help you hear better. Get on it.

The last thing that I haven't quite grasped yet has to do with the screen itself. The gorgeous, large screens suck up so much battery through the course of 24 hours that it's painful. But it's not that these screens are juice hogs, it's that there are still manufacturers out there (I'm looking at you Apple) that insist that you should hold your tablet like a phone (in portrait). These devices are supposed to be the ultimate media consuming devices. Movies are better in landscape, pictures are better in landscape...hell, even games are better in landscape. So someone needs to explain to me why the likes of Apple, Toshiba, HP (RIP WebOS), HTC, Vizio and now Amazon keep designing tablets that they prefer are held in portrait.

I love that my Xoom is primarily a landscape device. Holding it with both hands on either side gives it a good weight distribution. Maybe it's because of its heft that I wouldn't want to hold it in portrait. Even if I'm reading a book, I prefer holding it in landscape. It just works better. Plenty of new tablets are taking advantage of the widescreen aspect. Asus more than anyone else is designing the experience around the landscape format. The Eee Pad Transformer docks on a keyboard with expanded battery for more of a laptop feel and the Eee Pad Slider actually has a slide out keyboard as part of the device. Neither of these would work on a primarily portrait device (I despise the Galaxy Tab 10.1's keyboard dock).

Up next, I'll take a look at what I think needs changing with Tablet operating systems, focusing on Android and iOS but also briefly touching on Blackberry's flailing tablet OS and the upcoming Windows 8 tablet OS.

Until then always remember
It is the Geeks that will inherit the Earth